Book Review by Pixie: Parasite, by Soren Summers (DNF)

It’s been one hundred and forty-five days since the world ended. Paragon has swept through the city of Pleasance like a reaper’s scythe. Now the dead walk the earth, seeking the flesh of the living. Still Jarod Samuels refuses to die.

As a hunter, Jarod safeguards the Hive, the ruined mall he calls home. He exterminates zombies to protect the city’s last few survivors, and to keep Gabriel Anderson unharmed, their lives intertwined now more than ever.

But in a city ravaged by Vertex’s corruption, there’s no telling what dangers each day will bring, whether the threats within the Hive’s walls might be deadlier than those without – or whether monsters from the past still lurk and linger in the city’s shadows.​

M/M Pairing
Gay Characters
Horror
Fantasy
Dark
Dystopia

Content Warning for:
Blood & Gore

Review contains spoilers.

So I want to start this review out by saying that this book has nothing but glowing 4 and 5 star reviews on Goodreads, and an overall star rating of 4.63% (as of 5/18/17). So it may just be me here, but I couldn’t finish it. For starters this is ABSOLUTELY NOT a romance. The majority of the book we are in Jarod’s mind as he worries about his status and safety in the Hive, past mistakes, the state of his “relationship” with Gabriel, a rivalry with a friend/co-worker (if that is even the term) of Gabriel’s who he thinks may have the hots for his boyfriend, and Daniel who may or may not have the hots for him.

While I do love a good dystopian book, this for the most part was dull. Jarod’s internal monologue of self-doubt and worry was not only exhausting but repetitive. I was frustrated because, though he and Gabriel appeared to have maintained their “relationship,” it was no more clear to me in this book if it was romantic or a way for Gabriel to manipulate Jarod into doing what he wanted him to do… which at 64% I wasn’t sure what that could be, as the world had gone to shit.

Gabriel continues to confuse me. The one time that the two have an on-page sexual interaction, it didn’t clear anything up for me. In the first book I thought Gabriel manipulated Jarod with sex, but the second book… I just didn’t get the picture from Gabriel that he did anything more than go through the motions. Again he seemed to do it more for Jarod’s benefit than a real desire for closeness, and it had a purpose rather than being something two lovers do during the few stolen moments, as a way to forget that the entire world was screwed.

There is a twist in this one which… wasn’t enough for me to keep going. It’s not new or revolutionary. There are several stories that do it: I Am Legend for one, or that weird zombie YA movie that came out this summer, where the “dead” evolve and start to think and act in a way that makes them more of a problem rather than just bumbling annoyances.

So for me… I DNF’d it at 64%. It just wasn’t scary enough or romantic enough to hold my attention.

Hi, Soren here. After 15 years spent working in lifestyle journalism and public relations I decided it was time to stop selling other people’s stories and start telling my own. I’m obsessed with writing about ordinary people struggling against overwhelming supernatural odds. I’ve also been told that I’m kind of charming. No, really.

I love video games, staying home on the weekends, and geeky guys. I’m great with animals and I have a soft spot for cats, dogs, and geeky guys. My favorite edibles are pizza, coffee, and geeky guys. My favorite shows are RuPaul’s Drag Race, Better Off Ted, and anything that has geeky guys in it. Also my friends say I have a one-track mind but they have no idea what they’re talking about.

The first one was really good & I’ve actually read the 1.5, which is a different couple whereas this is a continuation of book 1 with the same couple, and that was also good. The issue for me was I was expecting more in terms of relationship development with the main couple & a huge plot twist or something based on the other reviews I’d read. Oh well…